‘No evidence of plunder vs PS-DBM, Pharmally execs’

MANILA, Philippines — There is no evidence to prove plunder had been committed in the anomalous awarding of P4.165-billion supply contracts for COVID-19 test kits to Pharmally Corp., Ombudsman Samuel Martires said yesterday, defending his office’s resolution to charge officials involved in the deal only with the bailable offense of graft.

Martires explained that while the amount involved exceeded the P50-million threshold sum for plunder, evidence presented did not show who among the officials named in the case had amassed ill-gotten wealth from the contract.

He was referring to Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) executive director Christopher Lloyd Lao, former PS-DBM procurement group director and current Overall Deputy Ombudsman (ODO) Warren Lex Liong and other officials recommended to be charged with graft.

“There is no evidence that Lao or Liong accumulated (ill-gotten wealth). Was it the two of th em or just one of them? It was hard to identify. There was also no record showing that they received commissions. What was clear and on record is that PS-DBM or some officials of PS-DBM favored Pharmally in these contracts for test kits,” Martires said in English and Filipino, in a phone interview with reporters.

Martires cited the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court dismissing the plunder case against Pampanga congresswoman and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“In that ruling, Chief Justice (Lucas) Bersamin said that the Law on Plunder (Republic Act 7080) requires that the particular public officer must be identified as the one who amassed, acquired or accumulated ill-gotten wealth... In this case of the Pharmally, who among the public officers amassed the ill-gotten wealth? We cannot identify,” the ombudsman said.

He also cited the SC decision on the plunder case against former president Joseph Estrada, wherein the high tribunal stated that for a crime of plunder to exist, it must be established that each of the respondents, by their individual acts, agreed to participate directly or indirectly in the amassing, accumulation and acquisition of ill-gotten wealth.

“There is nothing on record showing that there was an agreement between Pharmally and Lao or Liong to amass wealth for Lao or Liong. What is on record is that PS-DBM decided to procure the test kits on Pharmally,” Martires said.

In a resolution released last week, Martires approved the filing of cases of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Lao, Liong and five other former and incumbent officials of PS-DBM.

Also ordered charged with graft were the executives of Pharmally namely, its president Twinkle Dargani, treasurer and secretary Mohit Dargani, directors Linconn Ong and Justine Garado and board member Huang Tzu Yen as well as employee Krizle Grace Magno.

The resolution was in connection with the PS-DBM’s awarding of three supply contracts with the aggregate amount of P4.165 billion to Pharmally for the procurement of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits.

The ombudsman said its investigation revealed that Pharmally bagged the contract despite its lack of track record and its measly paid-up capital of P625,000.

The ombudsman also noted that Pharmally was established only in September 2019, merely seven months prior to the awarding of the contracts in April to June 2020.

Upgrade possible if…

Martires, however, said his office is open to upgrading the case to plunder, if new evidence or witnesses surface.

“If one of the accused would turn state witness and say that an amount of P50 million or more was given to either Lao, Liong or any DBM official, then we might reconsider conducting another preliminary investigation and amending the information,” Martires said.

Besides, Martires said his office is still investigating the other multibillion peso supply contracts awarded to Pharmally, particularly the contracts for the procurement of face masks and face shields, collectively referred to as personal protective equipment or PPE.

“Yes, there is still ongoing investigation on Pharmally. In fact, before this long weekend, I gathered from investigators that they were already done (looking into) the transfer of funds from Department of Health to PS-DBM,” Martires pointed out.

Asked why former president Rodrigo Duterte and his former economic adviser Michael Yang were not included in the list of those being charged, Martires said there was likewise no evidence showing their involvement in the Pharmally deals.

“There is no direct evidence on record also that the financier (of Pharmally) was Michael Yang. This is the allegation of the (Blue Ribbon) committee but nobody really testified that Michael Yang was the financier,” Martires said.

“It is hard to prove to the court, the ‘he said, she said.’ There should be concrete evidence. If our purpose is to harass an individual we can do that, but if that would be the role of the ombudsman, perhaps I would rather resign,” Martires said.

He said his office would likely proceed with the filing of the graft cases before the Sandiganbayan, without awaiting the motions for reconsideration of respondent PS-DBM and Pharmally officials, to avoid possible dismissal of the cases by the court due to inordinate delay.

Gordon: Not far enough

Former senator Richard Gordon, who chaired the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that conducted a probe on the Pharmally deal, said the ombudsman can coordinate with the Anti-Money Laundering Council to determine if the PS-DBM officials benefited from the anomalous deal.

Gordon also lamented the exclusion of Duterte and Yang from the indictments.

“(The ombudsman) didn’t go far enough,” Gordon told The STAR yesterday. He said Ong and Huang had admitted that Yang had advanced money to Pharmally.